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Elmon T. Gray
Elmon Taylor Gray (May 1, 1925 – September 27, 2011) was an American lumberman, real estate developer, philanthropist and Democratic member of the Senate of Virginia from Waverly, Virginia. Early and family life Elmon Gray was born on May 1, 1925, to Garland (Peck) Gray and his wife Agnes Elizabeth (Aggie) Taylor. He attended segregated public schools, graduating from Waverly High School on the day of the Battle of Midway, and began studies at the Virginia Military Institute in 1942. He left VMI in 1944 to join the U.S. Navy as an ensign, and served on a minesweeper in the South Pacific until his discharge in 1946. He then returned to VMI and received his bachelor's degree in 1948. In 1990, he received an honorary degree from his alma mater. He married Pamela Spencer Burnside, and they had two sons (Bruce Burnside Gray and Garland Gray II) and a daughter (Kathryn Taylor Gray). Career Upon returning from World War II and graduating from VMI, Gray joined his father in the fami ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nansemond County, Virginia
Nansemond is an extinct jurisdiction that was located south of the James River in Virginia Colony and in the Commonwealth of Virginia (after statehood) in the United States, from 1646 until 1974. It was known as Nansemond County until 1972. From 1972 to 1974, a period of eighteen months, it was the independent city of Nansemond. It is now part of the independent city of Suffolk. English colonists named it for the Nansemond, a tribe of Native Americans who had long been living along the Nansemond River, a tributary of what the English later named as the James River. They encountered the English colonists after they began arriving in 1607 at Jamestown. Although disrupted by being forced off their land and through armed confrontation with colonists, the Nansemond Indian Nation continues to be based in Virginia and was granted state (1985) and federal recognition (2018). History 17th century Under the Virginia Company of London, in 1619, the area which became Nansemond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Corporation
Universal Corporation is one of the world's leading tobacco merchants. Incorporated in 1886, Universal is headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States. Current operations Universal buys, sells, and processes flue-cured and burley tobacco. It also holds a 49% interest in Socotab, LLC, a large dealer in oriental leaf tobaccos. The company does not manufacture cigarettes or other consumer tobacco products, although its largest customer is Altria Group (owner of Philip Morris USA). Universal common stock is part of the S&P 600 index. History After the 1911 breakup of the American Tobacco Company trust, Jacquelin P. Taylor incorporated Universal out of six formerly independent leaf merchants. On January 3, 2020, Universal purchased FruitSmart. Bribery In 2010, Universal along with its competitor Pyxus (then Alliance One) were accused of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (, ''et seq.'') is a United Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southside (Virginia)
Southside, or Southside Virginia, has traditionally referred to the portion of the state south of the James River (Virginia), James River, the geographic feature from which the term derives its name. This was the first area to be developed in the colonial period. During the colonial era, Southside was considered the area where entrepreneurs settled, as opposed to some of the more established and wealthier families in the Tidewater (region), Tidewater counties. Many early Southside settlers were younger sons of established Tidewater families. A major portion of the territory was formed in 1703, when Prince George County, Virginia was organized from Charles City County. Four other counties and three independent cities were formed from this territory, the counties in the 18th century and some of the independent cities in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 21st century, however, some people use a more limited definition of the region that is confined to the Piedmont area: those c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Luther King Jr
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., his assassination in 1968. He advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination in the United States, discrimination. A Black church leader, King participated in and led marches for the right to vote, Desegregation in the United States, desegregation, labor rights, and other civil rights. He oversaw the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As president of the SCLC, he led the unsuccessful Albany Movement in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize nonviol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wakefield, Virginia
Wakefield is an incorporated town in Sussex County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 729. Wakefield is widely known for the Virginia Diner, the Airfield Conference and 4-H Educational Center, and the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office for Eastern Virginia, which issues weather alerts for the region, though the latter two are actually located outside the town limits. Wakefield also hosts the Virginia Shad Planking. Geography Wakefield is located at (36.970219, −76.988461). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.3 km2), of which 1.2 square miles (3.2 km2) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km2) (3.10%) is water. Climate History Wakefield appears on the Fry-Jefferson map of Virginia first published in 1752. Demographics 2020 census 2010 Census As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 927 people living in the city. The racia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedford, Virginia
Bedford is an incorporated town and former Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city located within Bedford County, Virginia, Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 6,657. It is part of the Lynchburg metropolitan area. Bedford County surrounds the town and has the Blue Ridge Mountains to the north, Smith Mountain Lake to the south, Lynchburg to the east, and Roanoke, Virginia, Roanoke to the west. History Bedford was originally known as Liberty, "named after the Colonial victory over Cornwallis at Yorktown." Founded as a village in 1782, Liberty became Bedford County's seat of government, replacing New London, Virginia, New London which had become part of the newly formed Campbell County, Virginia, Campbell County. Liberty became a town in 1839 and in 1890 changed its name to Bedford City. In 1912, Bedford reverted to town status, it resume ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National D-Day Memorial
The National D-Day Memorial is a war memorial located in Bedford, Virginia. It serves as the national memorial for American D-Day veterans. However, its scope is international in that it states, "In Tribute to the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of Allied Forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944" and commends all Allied Armed Forces during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944 during World War II. The memorial borders the Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia with an area of over that overlooks the town of Bedford. It officially opened on June 6, 2001 with 15,000 people present, including President George W. Bush. About 60,000 people visit the memorial each year, with more than half from outside of Virginia. The "Bedford Boys" and the location of the memorial Thirty-four Virginia National Guard soldiers participated in D-Day from Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, based in the town of Bedford before the war. Company A was decimated with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stuart Hall School
Stuart Hall School is a Staunton, Virginia, co-educational school for students from Grade 6 to Grade 12, and it offers a boarding program from Grades 8 to 12. Stuart Hall School was established in 1827. The head of the school is Jason Coady. In the school review website Niche, Stuart Hall School was the 34th best private high school in Virginia in 2022. History In 1827, Stuart Hall started as Mrs. Maria Sheffey's school which held classes in her Staunton home - Kalorama. It was called Kalorama Seminary. In 1844, they renamed the school to "Virginia Female Institute." The School was the oldest preparatory school for women in Virginia. Old Main is a three-story, five-bay, brick Greek Revival style building completed in 1844, which was designed and built by Edwin Taylor. It has a two-story, three-bay, Doric order portico with a simple heavy frieze supported by four-paneled piers. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is located in the Newtown Hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia Historical Society
The Virginia Museum of History and Culture founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history. It is a private, non-profit organization, supported almost entirely by private contributions. In 2004, it was designated the official state historical society of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The historical society's headquarters was renamed from Virginia Historical Society to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in 2018. The museum features exhibitions and programming for visitors of all ages and has more than of exhibition gallery space and the largest display of Virginia artifacts on permanent view. The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is the only museum with all of Virginia's history under one roof—all centuries, regions, and topics are covered. Mission The mission of the historical society is to connect people to America's past through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boy Scouts Of America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Scouts of America in 1910, about 130 million Americans have participated in its programs, which are served by 465,000 adult volunteers. The organization became a founding member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922. The stated mission of Scouting America is to "prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law." Youth are trained in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations. For younger members, the Scout method is part of the program to inst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freemasons
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizations in history. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of three main traditions: * Anglo-American style Freemasonry, which insists that a "volume of sacred law", such as the Bible, Quran, or other religious text be open in a working lodge, that every member professes belief in a supreme being, that only men be admitted, and discussion of religion or politics does not take place within the lodge. *Continental Freemasonry or Liberal Freemasonry which has continued to evolve beyond these restrictions, particularly regarding religious belief and political discussion. * Women Freemasonry or Co-Freemasonry, which includes organizations that either admit women exclusively (such as the Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Anc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congregational Church
Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. These principles are enshrined in the Cambridge Platform (1648) and the Savoy Declaration (1658), Congregationalist confessions of faith. The Congregationalist Churches are a continuity of the theological tradition upheld by the Puritans. Their genesis was through the work of Congregationalist divines Robert Browne, Henry Barrowe, and John Greenwood. In the United Kingdom, the Puritan Reformation of the Church of England laid the foundation for such churches. In England, early Congregationalists were called '' Separatists'' or '' Independents'' to distinguish them from the similarly Calvinistic Presbyterians, whose churches embraced a polity based on the governance of elders; this commitment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
